Texas push to ban minors under 18 from social media fades with time running out

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A push in Texas to ban social media accounts for children under 18 faded Thursday after lawmakers did not take a key vote on creating one of the nation’s toughest restrictions aimed at keeping minors off platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

The bill, which already passed the GOP-controlled state House, aims to go further than a Florida social media ban for minors under 14. Australia banned social media accounts for anyone under 16.

But earlier momentum behind the Texas measure slowed at the eleventh hour in the state Senate as lawmakers face a weekend deadline to send bills to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott has not said publicly whether he supported the proposed ban, which was opposed by tech trade groups and critics who called it it an unconstitutional limit on free speech.

“This bill was the best way to protect children in this state,” state Rep. Jared Patterson, a Republican carrying the measure, said Wednesday.

The legislative session ends Monday. That leaves a narrowing path for the proposal that, if passed, would set up another test of state efforts to set boundaries on how and when children can access social media.

Many tech companies have established a presence in Texas, including X, which is owned by Elon Musk.

Earlier this week, Abbott signed into law a separate measure requiring Apple and Google to verify the age of online app store users, as well as parental consent to download apps and make in-app purchases for users under 18. Utah passed a similar bill earlier this year.

The proposed Texas ban aimed at minors is the latest move in a growing bipartisan push nationwide to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children. Critics accuse platforms of using addictive functions to lure children onto their site and keep them there, and of not doing enough to curb violent or age-inappropriate content, or online abuse.

Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly” despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health, according to a December 2024 report published by the Pew Research Center.

The American Psychological Association has called on tech companies and lawmakers to protect children’s mental health, arguing that social media platforms are “particularly risky” to young people who cannot disengage from sites and struggle with impulse control.

States and countries have passed various measures to address the problem, and some have run into legal challenges.

A federal judge in 2024 temporarily blocked Utah’s first-in-the-nation law requiring social media companies to check the ages of all users and place restrictions on accounts belonging to minors.

California, which is home to some of the largest tech companies in the world, will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent starting in 2027. And New York state allows parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm.